Synopsis

Everyone in the small American town of Denton is searching for Isabelle Coleman, a missing seventeen-year-old girl. All they’ve found so far is her phone and another girl they didn’t even know was missing.

Mute and completely unresponsive to the world around her, it’s clear this mysterious girl has been damaged beyond repair. All Detective Josie Quinn can get from her is a name: Ramona.

Currently suspended from the force for misconduct, Josie takes matters into her own hands as the name leads her to evidence linking the two girls. She knows the race is on to find Isabelle alive, and she fears there may be others…

The trail leads Josie to another victim, a girl who escaped but whose case was labelled a hoax by authorities. To catch this monster, Josie must confront her own nightmares and follow her instinct to the darkest of places. But can she make it out alive?

Review

I love a crime novel, especially where the protagonist is a flawed female detective. There’s something about a prickly woman trying to put the world to rights that really resonates and provides additional layers to a traditional crime drama.

Enter Josie… she’s on temporary leave due to her temper, but – of course – she can’t stay away, especially when a young girl goes missing. Josie is a great character: determined, stubborn, feisty and she knows what she wants! However, she still needlessly puts herself in dangerous situations and gives away a lot of – I would think – confidential information.

Other characters are very much secondary but Ray is one you can warm to and almost feel sorry for. As we learn more about the history between him and Josie, our opinions change.

The story itself is engrossing, with a few twists that might shock you. After the action the ending is a little underwhelming, but not unsatisfactory. There are little clues throughout, but it takes a while to start to piece them together and work out what’s going on.

One thing I will say is that Regan has no issue killing people off. Some of the victims are quite a shock so don’t get close to any of them, because this is a series and no doubt more of them will be lost as we go. And read on I shall, because no doubt the books will get better and better and I can’t wait for the next one. 

Thanks to Bookstagrammers for the book. Opinions my own.

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